Diving
by GoldenJedi
Summary: Han and Leia did not meet on the Death Star, but 5 years earlier... This is what happened.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful afternoon.

More than beautiful, it was perfect.

The temperature was mild, the sun shone and the soft breeze smelt of ripe grass and dusty leaves.

A few avians circled above his head, crying sharply before diving into the lake some twenty meters below them. Most of them emerged spraying sparkling clear water around, a shuddering, silvery prey caught in their beakers.

The lake was a shallow basin of the purest blue green, surrounded by low hills and occasional protruding granite boulders, as the one he was currently perched upon. The mass of trees that covered it all, of a deep green touched with black where the sun did not reach, was almost a living presence. No wonder that the local deity was a forest Goddess.

Alderaan was a gorgeous planet, even more than what the tourism brochures transpired. It reminded him a little of Corellia, somehow, even if his planet of origin was mostly farmland and the Alderaanians preferred to leave the not inhabited zones as untouched as possible. They were rich enough to import most of their food, anyway, while the stubborn Corellians made a point of honor on not depending on anyone for anything.

The young man stretched in the sun and sighed.

He had been on planet for a week but nothing was developing as he had hoped. He wondered if it was time to make some drastic choices. Tomorrow he would have to take that transport back and he would be one hell of a coward if he left without saying anything.

That was why he had come to this retired place in the hope that its renowned peace would help him make up his mind, find an answer to the questions that plagued his nights. This narrow rocky ledge just beneath the hilltop seemed the ideal spot to contemplate the lake... and his life.

Splash

A rock tossed from above his head broke the crystalline surface of the lake.

Splash Splash

"Stop it, Jorlyn... Leave the birds alone..." A muffled female's voice said.

_Shavit._ So much for peace.

A male's voice said something he couldn't understand which was answered with giggles from the first voice, followed by the unmistakable sound of dry leaves being crunched by two bodies. And more whispering and giggles.

Kids... _Oh, hell._

They must have hiked up from the other side of the hill, aiming for... Well, whatever Alderaanian teenagers did when all by themselves these days, although he suspected it was exactly the same all teenagers in the galaxy did at the first opportunity when they thought that no adults where around.

It was almost time for him to go back to his hotel to get a shower and dress for the evening, anyway, yet he had hoped for a few more minutes of quietness before he was paraded again in front of...

"Jor, _please_..."

_No, no, no, no._ Not the afternoon holo-soap.

"Stop it, Jor!"

His ears perked up. Something was not right.

"I said no, Jorlyn Nornen!"

That was it. The girl did not sound afraid, in fact her voice was quite commanding but he jumped to his feet all the same. Just in case...

A small figure burst into his ledge, crashing into his chest and winding the breath out of his lungs. Her lithe body bounced against his much heavier one and he instinctively circled her with his arms, trying to regain his balance, but she pushed him away at the same time her knee flew up to his groin.

Had she stopped a split second to aim more carefully, the hit would have disabled him for quite some time but fortunately she missed her target – barely. Still the unexpected attack made him loosen his grip on her and the girl stepped backwards, dark eyes widened by the surprise. Before he could warn or catch her, she slipped on the rocky edge and fell down to the water giving a brief, sharp cry.

He peaked over the edge but the only thing he could see was a pattern of concentric ripples sailing away from its center. "Sithspit," he swore.

Without hesitation, he dove after her.

* * *

The water was cooler than what he had thought it would be. His body speared through it until his hands grazed something he hoped was underwater vegetation. Opening his eyes, he followed the rays of light up to the surface, where he found the object of his worries.

Kicking swiftly he propelled himself up until he broke the surface next to her. She was struggling to swim and keep her long hair out of her eyes at the same time.

"You alright?"

A wet _hmph_ was the only answer. Then he noticed she was using only one arm to propel herself so he tried to throw one of his around her waist to help her float.

"Don't touch me!" She pushed him away with her good arm and sank under the water immediately.

"Hey, I'm only trying to help!" He protested, lifting her over the surface again.

"Who are you?" She gasped, spitting some water.

"I'm Han, nice to meet ya too. Will ya let me help now?"

She growled something under her breath but relaxed slightly and let him grab her more securely.

"Good girl," he breathed into her ear and started to propel himself backward, dragging her with him.

She was petite and almost submerged in the water as she was, she did not weight anything at all. Her waist was very small, like a child's, he could have circled it with one arm if he wanted to. Still, she was no kid anymore, that was clear too, the evidence of it peaking proudly over the waves. Maybe thirteen or fourteen years old, probably.

"Leia, are you all right?" A small voice called from above.

She raised her good hand in a rather rude gesture for all answer.

"Uhu, nice," Han sniggered. "I take it you two didn't part in very good terms..."

"He's a nerfherder... He thinks that because his father owns a few lousy cruisers that he can do whatever he pleases..." She answered furiously.

She was silent the rest of the time they needed to reach the lake shore. Suddenly Han's boots scrapped on rocky bottom and soon they were standing under the trees, soaking wet and dripping.

"You alright?" He asked again. "How's your arm?"

"It's not broken," she answered, supporting one elbow with the opposite hand and moving the shoulder carefully in a slow circling motion. "I think I just twisted it when I fell into the water... Thanks to you." Her face frowned into a deep scowl.

The young Corellian's jaw dropped as his hands went to his hips. "Ain't you a little young to go with boys to lonely places? Maybe that's what made you take an unexpected bath, Missy."

Leia's small frame straightened visibly and she fixed her furious eyes in his. "I'm fifteen, I'll be a legal adult in less than a year, Mister..."

"Solo, Han Solo."

"...Mister Solo, and I can defend myself perfectly."

The man released a heartfelt laugh. This tiny specimen of a woman-to-be looked so funny in her righteous mood. "I don't doubt it, sweetheart. C'mon, I'll take you home..."

"I can walk."

"The sun's setting. You'll catch a cold."

"I'm not cold."

"You're trembling."

"I'm not tr-trembling." Her bluff was betrayed by the chattering of her teeth.

The last rays of the sun crawled away from the valley and a thin mist started to cover the surface of the lake.

Han rolled his eyes. "C'mon," he repeated. "My speeder's just behind those trees."

Without waiting for her answer, he turned and started to walk. Huffing and stomping, Leia Organa followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Gorgeous... A little old for her, that was true, but _so_ gorgeous...

Gorgeous eyes, strong chin, long legs, shoulders like two meters wide, muscular arms...

Leia Organa blushed as her thoughts strayed while she tried to describe to Winter the more remarkable physical features of the man that had rescued her from the lake that afternoon.

She tried to estimate his age but could not come to a conclusion, somewhere between twenty-five and thirty. Probably some military training, by the set of his shoulders and the way he walked.

It had been a big risk she had taken when she had climbed into his speeder after accepting the offer of his jacket to warm herself. Not only because the man was a complete stranger that, in spite of her earlier bravado, could have overpowered her easily, but because of who she was and, more important, whose daughter she was.

What if the guy was an Imperial agent? Or, almost as worse, a holo-shill reporter?

Yet she had had this strange feeling of security from the moment she had entered that speeder. Not that he looked harmless in the least, on the contrary, there was a definite aura of danger about him, just not directed against her. A touch of sadness too, even if she did not know what had prompted that impression. She just knew those things, sometimes, and was rarely mistaken.

That impression had certainly not come from his warm laugh as they sped by the clearance where the swoop bike was parked. Her bright new racing swoop that she was still not allowed to drive but had insisted to try anyway. Jorlyn had stood there, meekly waiting for her return.

"You came in that thing?" Han had asked.

She nodded.

"You're braver than I thought," he laughed.

Of course he thought Jor had been at the controls and she had been the scared passenger. She could not help joining him in his hilarity as they left the surprised Nornen heir behind, remembering his blanched face as he had dismounted the bike, swearing to never let her drive again.

They did not speak much during the short trip back to Aldera City. Leia did not want to reveal too much about herself and he seemed to be of the reserved kind. He had confirmed that he was Corellian, though, when she asked – something obvious from his accent –, that he was on Alderaan on vacations and that he would be heading back home the next day. They did some small talk about the weather, the local amenities and then the conversation died until they reached Aldera's outskirts.

She had guided him through the maze of lanes and streets until they reached a small unmarked entrance in a tall wall.

"This is the Palace," he said surprised.

"I live here," she stated simply.

He emitted an admired whistle. "Wow..."

"My father... works here," she added quickly, diverting her eyes.

"I've heard it's a very nice place."

Leia gave him a small proud smile. "It is..."

"Will ya be in trouble? I can go and..."

"That won't be necessary, thank you, I can manage." Colonel Brant was on guarding duty until tomorrow and he would not report her escapade unless her father asked directly. She slipped the jacket from her damp shoulders and handed it back. Then, gathering her courage, she placed a small had on his arm and a brief kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for diving after me. Have a safe trip home, Mr. Solo," she added before bolting out of the speeder.

"So long, kid," Leia heard him mutter. She turned in time to see him smile at her with a lopsided grin she would not forget anytime soon. "Take care," he said finally. And then he drove away.

* * *

The Palace was a rather imposing place, that was for sure, Han Solo thought. Even if he had to endure the endless explanations about the particularities of each art piece and each architectural feature that they had encountered in the two plants they had patiently, painfully wandered through so far.

They had finally arrived to one of the halls in the North Tower, a middle-sized room – for the building's standards – with huge panoramic windows that left the guests gaping, admiring the breathtaking view of Aldera City, the Valley and the huge lake at the feet of the Palace. The guides had announced that refreshments would be served in short and he guessed they had just been brought when the crowd broke in applause. He clapped distractedly, his eyes never leaving the gorgeous landscape beyond the transparisteel.

In a couple of hours he would be leaving this beautiful planet, maybe forever, and he wanted to absorb as much of it as he could. The matter that had brought him to this place had failed in the end but one good thing had come out of it. Alderaan had definitely seduced him. Its gentleness, life loving and carefully preserved raw beauty was a stark contrast to his daily reality of dark space and hard survival, but he was glad he had been able to enjoy this place for once, if briefly. This unexpected opportunity to visit the Palace had been just too tempting to let it pass even if he was all ready to go.

A service droid offered him a beverage in a tall, frosty glass. Non-alcoholic, he guessed but he doubted he would be offered anything stronger at this time of the afternoon. He confirmed his suspicions as he sipped the sweet, fruity concoction, again lost in his thoughts.

Since he had set foot inside the gardens, of course, he had wondered if he would by chance meet again the girl of the lake. What was her name again? Yeah, Leia, like the Princess. Half the girls on Alderaan seemed to be called like that. But the Palace was as big as a small city in itself so he doubted it. Still, to try and spot her dark eyes among the dozens of beings that came and went through the maze of corridors was at least less boring than listening to the endless babbling of the tour guides.

A gentle hand on his arm interrupted his musings. "Han, dear, I want to introduce you to someone..."

* * *

Gah, archeology convention? Her father wanted her to interrupt her weekly weapon's training to go and greet a bunch of archeologists and art specialists? Leia could not believe it, the one class she really enjoyed lately and her father had taken a habit to interrupt or suspend it with trivial excuses. Maybe he _had_ found out about her little adventure of the day before after all.

Winter had already laid out for her the pink and burgundy outfit that highlighted so pleasantly her eyes so the only thing left was to re-braid her hair and apply a little make up. At least that made her look a little older and people seemed to pay more attention to her that way. In a few months she would start her senatorial campaign and she would need to be taken seriously. If this was the way, so be it

* * *

.  
"Leia, my dear, I'm glad you could take a break in your studies to join us," Bail Organa greeted his daughter warmly as she entered the North Hall, Winter in tow.

"I'm sorry to be a little late, Father," she answered politely. No, he didn't suspect, she was sure of it... Almost.

"Never mind, I want to introduce you to some people," he said, guiding her softly by the arm. The code he tapped discreetly on her elbow with his fingers told her these were _important_ people and he wanted her to use all her abilities to evaluate them. "You know I've been financing studies about the pre-Republic art in the South Provinces," he continued, steering her to a couple near the center of the room. "I want you to meet the wonderful young lady that has agreed to take over Dr. Grasan's project now that his health has taken a turn for the worse. Leia, this is Bria Tharen, from Corellia. Dr. Tharen, my daughter, Princess Leia of Alderaan."

A beautiful woman with blondish-red hair curtsied deferently before the much shorter-than-her teenager, her blue-green eyes smiling at her over the hand she was offered to shake. "It's a real pleasure, your Highness." Then she motioned to the tall man at her side who wore a dark gray uniform with gold piping on the side of his pants. "May I introduce my husband, Lieutenant Commander Han Solo?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Leia Organa repressed the sharp intake of breath with which her body reacted when her sight reached the face of the Imperial Lieutenant Commander saluting her. Even without the name she would not have failed to recognize the hazel eyes or the subtle smirk that fluttered briefly across Han Solo's lips.

_You're a fool, Leia Organa_, the Princess of Alderaan berated herself as she extended her hand to him too. _You should have known it..._

* * *

_Sweet Corellian stars, the kid's the Princess! She really is!_

She looked nothing like the drenched brat he had fished from the lake the day before, with her elegant clothes and the long hair up in some complicate arrangement. She looked more mature, more in control. Royal. Still he would have recognized those sparkling chocolate eyes anywhere.

Han Solo laughed on the inside, knowing that this was a story nobody would ever believe.

* * *

"... Your lovely wife for a while, Lieutenant Commander," Viceroy Organa finished.

Han Solo blinked and dropped the small hand he was still retaining. "I'm sorry?"

"Dr. Tharen and I need to discuss some details about her work that will take some time, would you mind if I borrow her for a while, Lieutenant Commander?"

The young Corellian opened his mouth as if he had just remembered something but changed his mind. "Of course, Milord," he nodded.

As Bail Organa offered his arm to Bria and asked Winter to accompany them too, Han threw a questioning look to his wife. She shook her head fractionally and then turned her full attention to the ruler of Alderaan and former Imperial Senator.

* * *

The guides started to gather the group of scientists to bring them back to the shuttle that would get them back to Aldera.

"Is anything wrong?" the Princess's voice asked, watching him study his chrono with a worried frown on his forehead.

"No..." he answered. "Not really... But I need to report at the spaceport in a little more than two hours and my duffel's back at the hotel."

Leia remembered him telling something about leaving Alderaan the day before. "Oh. Don't worry, we can provide separated transportation if needed."

Solo shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "You think they'll take long?"

Her petite form straightened. "My father is a very busy person, Lieutenant Commander, I'm sure he will take the time he needs, no more, no less," she replied haughtily. Just what was this... _Imperial_ implying?

The Corellian cocked an eyebrow, amused. He was sure Bria had been no saint all those long years he had been stuck at the Academy, and neither had he, but he also knew she was smarter than this. If she was so obviously excited about working with the old guy, there had to be some other reason for it. "I'm sure of it," he replied rolling his eyes.

An assistant approached them and whispered something in Leia Organa's ear. "Yes, of course," she answered. "Would you like to take a walk in the gardens with me after I say goodbye to the rest of your group, Lieutenant Commander?"

* * *

"So where are you stationed, Lieutenant Commander?" The Princess asked politely. How she hated the small talk mandatory in these cases, but each bit of information could be potentially useful, at the proper time.

"I'm between assignments, your Highness. I'll know when I report back to Coruscant in two days." His voice was even, emotionless. The exact tone he had learned - the hard way, of course - at the Academy that suited best these occasions. He had to be careful. Even if Alderaan was not the Emperor's favorite planet most of the time, she still was the Viceroy's daughter, heir to one of the most powerful families in the Galaxy. His in-laws, with all their wealth, were just working-class by comparison.

_How do you get yourself into these situations, Solo?_ He asked himself.

"Leia?"

Solo and the Princess turned as one towards the newcomer's voice. A young man dressed in casual but expensive clothes closed the distance between them with agile strides. Blond hair, blue eyes, it was obvious he was an athlete of some kind.

"Jorlyn," she acknowledged.

Her stare was so cold that Han saw the youth literally shrink under her gaze. All muscle, no brain, he catalogued him. _Poor idiot_.

"I brought your swoop back," he stammered.

"Thank you."

The silence stretched between them.

"Do you need something else, Jorlyn?" Her words cut the clear air and the young man they were directed at flinched visibly.

"No..."

"Then I'd like to continue my conversation with Lieutenant Commander Solo uninterrupted, if you please. Goodbye, Jorlyn," she finished, lacing her arm familiarly to Han's and steering him away from the gaping blonde.

"I think you just broke the _nerfherder_'s heart, Princess," he drawled imitating her accent, bending slightly to whisper in her ear. His free hand covered the small one she still had wrapped around his biceps and she turned her head sharply, her lips founding themselves only a breath away from his.

Leia's cheeks turned crimson in a split second, her mind working in overdrive, wondering how the blazes she had gotten into this situation with a married guy. And an Imperial Navy officer too for that matter.

_She's beautiful_, was all that Han Solo could think meanwhile.

Turning her face away she hurried him along a path that lead to a different section of the garden. Once they were hidden from the Nornen guy's view, the Princess slipped her hand from Solo's hold and for a while they walked silently between even rows of carefully groomed bushes.

Suddenly Leia stopped and plucked a few half-dried leaves from a branch. "They'll need all the strength they can muster when the blooming season comes..." She whispered to herself, as if she did not remember that she was not alone. "Maybe you'll get to see them in all their glory during the Flower Festival, Lt. Commander."

Dang, she was the proper Princess again. What a shame, he liked the brat.

"Maybe. Is that an official invitation?" He asked with a wink. _Stop doing this to yourself, Solo. She's a kid, she's a Princess, you're a married adult. End of story._

"You don't need one..." The color came rushing back to her features. "I mean..." Why are you so inarticulate today, Leia Organa? "The gardens are open to the public during the Festival... And they're really beautiful."

"I'll try to come and see them, if I'm not half a galaxy away," he promised, smiling a little sadly.

"Since Dr. Tharen will be taking over Dr. Grasan's project, won't you be asking for a transfer to Alderaan?"

"I'm afraid I'm in no position to choose my destination, your Highness." And especially since I was the last one to be informed that my wife would be moving here.

Leia's sight dropped to the side of his pants. "But I thought..."

"It's just some old-fashioned piping, Princess. It doesn't carry any privileges." Not since the Navy top brass had wanted to discharge him dishonorably for the same actions the Corellians had decorated him.

There it was again, the hint of bitterness, she mused. Her treacherous mind tried to decide on the spot if he was cuter with this sadder look on his face or winking mischievously like before.

"My father could drop a word on your behalf..." She started.

"... I don't think that'll be necessary..." He denied.

"... you could be a great asset for us." Leia Organa's eyes dilated, her distracted brain noticing her slip at the same time the words left her mouth.

Solo's face turned dead serious immediately and he took his time to swallow and take a deep breath. "I don't think you wanted to say what you just did not say, Princess." He made a big show of checking his chrono again. "It's getting late, I should be going."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Han Solo arrived with plenty of time to the spaceport thanks to the transport provided by Princess Leia, only to find out that his shuttle's departure had been postponed by two hours.

With nothing to do and not really in the mood to roam the gift shops, eat or take advantage of any of the different forms of entertainment offered to the travelers, his feet brought him to the only other logical destination: a bar.

The place was classy but not pretentious, softly lit and mercifully quiet, no screaming kids or noisy vendors allowed there. He sat at the counter and ordered Alderaanian ale.

The bartender placed the tall glass before him and for a while he just sipped carefully from the rich brew. Alderaanian ale was dark and deceptively soft, as he had soon learned after his first experience with it.

He felt a little anxious about leaving the planet. Not that he did not want to leave, on the contrary. Still, he felt strangely absent. Detached. He had the uncanny sensation as if one big hatch had closed behind him and he was all ready in space waiting to jump into hyperspace. At least he would go away with some of the answers he had come looking for.

He realized he should be angry with Bria, but it was as if he was past that emotion all ready. Or maybe he had not accused full impact yet. In a way, he was angrier with himself for having turned a blind eye for so long. For letting the big and little lies pile one upon the other for years.

It had not been this way in the first times, not at all. He had loved her and she had loved him. Or at least they had thought they did.

After their escape from Ylesia and the near disaster in Corellia they had followed a crazy impulse and exchanged their vows in front of a sleepy Coruscanti magistrate and two anonymous witnesses. It had been an act of faith, faith that their love would change their lives for the better. They had been young and foolish enough to think that a lie was good start to it.

Bria had finally accepted the money her father offered in exchange for her return to Corellia, and that money had paid for his examination fee for the Academy. He had not mentioned in the registration form his marriage, as bonded candidates were automatically rejected. His bride did not say a word to her family either and the same day he landed on Carida, she had entered an exclusive rehab facility to cure herself of her exultation addiction.

They would not see each other for the next ten months.

By then, she had been out of rehab for several weeks and had just decided to go back to University and her interrupted studies. It seemed a sensible thing to do since he would be stuck at the Academy for another three years. Even if they had not seen each other for a long time, they had exchanged messages and holos as frequently as they were able, supporting each other through their trials and tribulations. When Solo was in the mood to be honest with himself, he had to acknowledge that it had been exactly that what had carried him through the grueling, horrible first year of his Navy training. The idea that, for the first time in his life, someone would be waiting for him at the end of the spacelane.

That first leave he had spent with Bria in her little college apartment in Corellia had been paradise. Passion had exploded between them in a way even they had not foreseen in those few days they had been together after Ylesia, when she was still so sick because of the exultation. She would make astounding discoveries that would turn around the the field of paleo-art, he would be the youngest Admiral ever and one day they would have the most amazing family together. Life was beautiful, exciting and full of promise.

Of course it did not last.

Why would it?

This trip to Alderaan had only confirmed what he had suspected about his wife and his marriage for a long time.

"Another one, sir?" The dutiful bartender offered.

Solo nodded. Then, feeling a whisper of silk and perfume sliding on the stool next to him, he added. "Make it two."

* * *

"Father, I need to talk to you," Princess Leia whispered to Viceroy Organa after the dinner they had shared with a few guests.

Bail led her to his private studio, probably the safest room in the whole Palace. Only a handful of people had unrestricted access to this place and not many more had seen the inside of it. Texts and data in several forms - even some ancient ones printed on flimsy - from a hundred worlds covered the ordered shelves up to the high ceiling. Most of its contents would have been frowned upon by the Empire's inquisitors and a few would have granted him an immediate death penalty.

Leia had spent many hours in this room, in solitude, after her mother's dead, when Bail's obligations as a Senator kept him in Coruscant. She curled up in his father's armchair and played Breha's favorite music, feeling a little as if they were with her that way.

It still was her favorite room in the entire Galaxy, but lately she had felt a thirst for open air, a need to feel the wind blowing up her hair, for the sun falling unfiltered upon her skin. She did not know why, but she sometimes felt suffocated between the carefully controlled environment of the Palace.

That was in part what had prompted her to buy the swoop. And not any swoop, a state-of-the-art racing swoop. Just climbing on it gave her a thrill very difficult to ignore. Bail had agreed on the acquisition only after some heavy convincing and a lot of promises. Promises she had broken, for the most part, when she had sneaked it out of the Palace with Jorlyn's help the day before.

"What's wrong, Leia?" Bail Organa asked, slightly worried by his daughter's uncharacteristic silence. "How did you fare with Lt. Commander Solo?"

The teenager's shoulders slumped. "Not good."

"His wife warned me that he's not an easy man to read," Bail smiled. "But she also said he has no great love for the Empire, in spite of what's apparent."

_I don't think you wanted to say what you just did not say, Princess_. The worried expression in Solo's eyes came back to her mind along with his words. "I know."

The Viceroy frowned. Leia was a highly intuitive person, a priceless quality that, sensibly used, had immense potential. He did not really know if that almost infallible ability had something to do with her Jedi heritage, though in his heart he wished without hope that was not the case.

"Why are they important?" She asked suddenly.

"Tharen has been collaborating with us for several years now. She's a brilliant woman, very motivated. Garm speaks very highly of her. Her only liability – or greatest asset, depending on how you consider it – is her husband," the Alderaanian ruler sighed. "There had been several subtle attempts to contact and eventually recruit him, but so far none of them succeeded. On the other hand, if he suspects something about his wife's allegiance he has not acted on it, unless he's been ordered to wait and catch a bigger fish..."

"Aren't you taking a big risk then...?"

"Offering her a job here?" He finished for Leia. "Maybe. But so far, it's just a perfectly legal research grant. Later, we'll see... Meanwhile, it'll give me the opportunity to have a first hand opinion on her."

"And so far?"

"She's eager to move here. She swears Solo would never betray her... or us. That he's a honest man, but very stubborn and that he entered the Academy only because he wanted to fly." He run his fingers through his silver-streaked beard, thinking about what the Corellian scholar had told him about how she met and got to marry Han Solo. "I don't know, the guy's past before the Navy is pretty shady, but anything is possible. And she's obviously in love with him," he finished.

Leia's eyelashes cast long shadows on her slightly colored cheeks. "I think she may be right."

Bail Organa's dark eyes studied his daughter's flushed face with tenderness. She was growing up so fast. He dreaded the day she would find a man daring enough to fall in love, because he knew she would be the kind of woman that would not let anything stand between her and the object of her affections. Unless it was her own pride and stubbornness. "Why?" He asked as if he had not noticed anything.

As succinctly as she could, Leia proceeded to tell him about what had happened the day before at Lake Reeja and earlier in the gardens.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You were going to leave without saying goodbye, weren't you?" Bria Tharen Solo whispered, sliding the tall glass full of Alderaanian ale closer to herself. The slight trembling of her fingers was the only thing that betrayed her true feelings.

Han Solo took a long sip from his second ale.

"Answer me, Han!" She hissed.

He turned slightly to her, his eyes narrowing. "Oh," he said mockingly, "_now_ you ask _me_, right?" 

Bria pressed her lips together, a deep frown appearing in her forehead. "I..." She stammered, "I'm sorry..."

"Don't do that, sweetheart," Solo groaned, shaking his head. "Don't do that..."

She turned pleading, shimmering eyes in his direction that he refused to meet. She had been struggling all week to fake that everything was normal, that nothing had changed. That now that Han did not need to hide that they were married anymore they would become like other couples, with ups and downs and everything in between. "You can't give up, Han, after all that we've been through..."

His attention returned to the dark ale in front of him. He moved the glass in slow circles, studying the pattern the thick foam left on the crystal. "Look, let's be honest, Bri," he said softly after a while. "This ain't working anymore." 

Her hand grabbed his wrist, stopping its motion. "I can't accept that!" She bit her lip, struggling for control. She knew that Han hated it when she got too emotional. "I know you're mad at me because I didn't tell you about this... job, but I couldn't... I had to swear I wouldn't tell anyone..." Her voice was now a hurried whisper, barely hearable above the background noise.

"I'm still your husband for star's sake!" He interrupted, placing his ale back on the counter forcefully.

"... And I didn't know I would be offered the grant until two hours ago." She went suddenly silent, her fingers releasing his arm. Her excuse sounded pitiful, even to her own ears. Contacting the Alderaanian dissidents had been one of the main objectives of her coming to the Annual Meeting of the Imperial Archeological Society. 

The other one had been to try to rekindle his relationship with Han. Things had been subtly degrading since that first glorious reunion years ago. The next time he hurried to see her as soon as his leave started, they tried to recreate that blissful feeling but succeeded only partially. She had made new friends at college and was eager to introduce 'her Han' to them – even if only as her boyfriend. The mix did not turn out well. In Han's opinion most of her new friends were spoiled brats who's biggest worry – besides their obscure studies and hobbies - seemed to be who had the newest datapad and where would they go next on vacations. And even Bria had noticed that the one or two that had a little more in their brains and whose trust she had tried to gain for weeks, had excused themselves sharply when they realized that he was an Imperial Navy cadet.

After that, his messages when they were apart had come less often and when they were together they spoke less and less about their 'other' lives. By unspoken agreement they decided that the only thing that counted was the time they spent together. She still felt the craving for the exultation some bad days and making love to Han, _with_ Han, was like drinking from life itself for her. It made her forget everything else, at least for a while.

Solo closed his eyes. "It's a dangerous game you're playing, baby," he sighed. "I don't think ya realize just how dangerous it really is."

"I do know..."

She had been warned. Over and over. Still it seemed that with each warning her resolution only grew. In her quest to get ridden of the malefic addiction to the T'lanta Til's cult she had researched everything that was known about them, their ways and their associates. Slowly she had come to the conclusion that only a regimen as corrupted as the Empire could tolerate that whole systems in the Galaxy would be controlled by Hutt crime lords and their henchmen. And even if commodities as glitterstim could be needed by society because they had other uses beyond recreational, there were methods to produce it that did not involve brainwashed slaves.

"You do?" Han looked squarely at Bria for the first time since she had arrived. "The T'lanta Til are _schoolboys_ compared to what an interrogator can do to you. And have you thought about how dangerous it is for me too? You think I can take a shuttle and just fly away from one of those star destroyers if anything goes wrong? You think they'd let me?" 

The Corellian woman paled. She had, in fact, thought at length about it, but managed to convince herself that Solo, deep inside, shared her beliefs and was willing to take those risks. "This is important, Han, the most important thing I've ever..." 

"There's always something more important, Bria," he answered bitterly. "The exultation, your family, your studies, your friends... I only have the Navy and you."

"You could have more than that, there's people..."

"I don't want more! Can't you understand?"

In a way, she understood. Han almost never talked about his childhood or the time before he met her, but Bria knew it had been not easy. He knew the ways and tricks of the seedy side of society too well to not have been deeply involved with it. She also knew he had tried to leave all that behind when he signed up with the Navy. And of course, he loved to fly. That was probably the only thing she had been ever truly jealous of. 

Other women she could understand, Han had a natural sensuality he was not fully aware of yet and that would always attract them to him like nightmoths to the light. The hard exercise and healthy food at the Academy had developed his body turning him into a very fine specimen of human male; she could not blame him if he had felt the need for some company every now and then when she was half a Galaxy away. Corellian marriage vows did not include the word fidelity after all. She herself had surrendered to loneliness a few times falling into the waiting arms of one fellow or another.

No, she had not been jealous when she had entered the Academy's ballroom on his arm the night of his graduation and she had noticed the murderous looks on quite a few of the women there. _She_ was the one dancing with the class Valedictorian, the most gorgeous man in the room; _she_ was the one introduced as his fiancée. It was _her_ night of triumph as much as his. To hell with everybody else.

No, she had not been jealous then. That had come later, when he had taken her for a tour of the Academy grounds, including the hangars that harbored the finest flying vessels the Empire had produced and he tried to explain what he felt while flying one of those. She knew then that it was only a matter of time until he discovered that what he would get in return for all his hard work for the Navy was not enough. Not worthy the effort. Because in his heart he did not want the honors and power of a military career, but the freedom to fly wherever he wanted.

And she knew in that moment that one day he would fly away from her as well.

"I'm gonna miss my shuttle," he announced standing abruptly.

Bria Tharen closed her eyes.

It seemed that the day was today. 

"I still love you, Han... I always will. Maybe one day you'll understand..." A sob choked her words and she buried her damp face in her hands.

Solo's fingers lingered briefly over her golden curls, almost reaching to caress them, but in the last moment he dropped his arm. "Goodbye, Bri," he whispered hoarsely, "be careful."

And then he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Selnesh.

Why Selnesh? Why?

If there was someplace closer to one of the nine Corellian hells he had not seen it yet.

The planet was barren, dry and scantily populated. Most of the activity was centered around the two spaceports, the military one near the new prison complex being built and the civil one, closer to the factories that produced some of the goods the prison would need in the future. Beyond that, there were only a few settlements of farmers and miners barely scraping a living from the poor land.

_How the blazes did I get stuck in this hellhole?_ Han Solo asked himself, not for the first time, tossing and turning around in his bunk. At least his present rank had granted him a private room where he could enjoy some solitude, even if that was about to change any time if Mrs. Klemdocc kept with her attempts at seducing him. Which would be perfectly fine by him if it were not for little details like Colonel Klemdocc being his highly irascible commanding officer. He doubted the lady was worth the risk, even if she carried very well her years.

So here he was, the youngest one to ever have received a Corellian Bloodstripe decoration, mostly grounded and buried alive in a prison planet. He wondered if he would have taken the same decision had he known in advance that it would throw his career down the garbage chute. That was something he would never know.

What was clear was that those men would have died if he had not given the order of abandoning the ship when the life support system went down. It was not his fault that the officers with higher rank than him were too busy getting to their escape pods instead of helping him secure the ship in a stable orbit. The _First Blood_ had been a beautiful vessel. It was a shame she had been lost on her maiden flight right outside the Corellian shipyard just because she had been launched without emergency pressure suits for the four hundred crewmen.

His eyes sled to the broken datapad on the floor and the new scratch on the far wall.

Damned Bria, why had she to be such an idealist? Now he would worry to death every time he heard about a new Rebel cell busted here or there. And if she really thought that a divorce would protect him in any way, that only showed how utterly hopeless those self-proclaimed freedom fighters were.

"Slick, you there?" A voice called from outside, followed by an energetic knocking on his door. "You're missing the special!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" He yelled back, kicking away the knot of rough sheets with finality.

A few minutes later, wearing sweatpants and shirt, he dragged himself to the officer's lounge. All his off-duty colleagues were all ready there, drinking ale and eating snacks – it was Empire Day after all, a little relaxing was allowed.

"Are we on yet?"

"No, not yet," Lieutenant Dretch answered with a smirk. "They're showing the hand-kissing and breast-peeking first."

Han laughed briefly and accepted a chilled ale bottle from the young pilot, sitting on one of the couches farther from the viewer.

The big holo-viewer was running the mandatory Anniversary Special. It was currently showing the highlights of the annual procession of dignitaries and courtiers to greet their great leader, Emperor Palpatine. Several cameras followed them from the moment they arrived to the Palace to the second in which they finally reached the throne room, climbed the steps that lead to the richly decorated dais and bowed in front of his Cloaked Majesty himself. The commentators meanwhile analyzed all the details from the extravagant gowns of the ladies to the latest gossip about who was rising in and who was falling from the Emperor's good graces.

"Look at that, Golden Boy himself decided to join us mere mortals!" A thick voice with a heavy middle-rim accent mocked him.

_Shavit._ By the clouded look on his bloodshot eyes, Colonel Klemdocc had all ready had more than a couple of ales. A couple of couples, probably.

Solo decided to ignore his bait, tipped his ale bottle up and swallowed almost half of it before swiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Fortunately, by then _Tipsy Klem _– as the pilots called him, though obviously not to his face – had been distracted by the impressive cleavage of the lady that was currently curtsying before the Head of the Empire.

"I bet that's why he makes them stay two steps below him, to get a good peek," the Colonel joked drunkenly. "Which one will he choose this year?"

The men in the room voiced their opinion, each name followed by heated debate about their attributes and faults. "Oh, I know who!" Someone shouted at last. "Look at that! I bet our Fearless Leader likes fresh untouched meat..."

Obscene laughter roared across the room, almost drowning the voice of the commentator. "And now we see approaching the dais Viceroy Bail Organa of Alderaan and his daughter, newly elected Senator Princess Leia of Alderaan. Princess Organa will replace the current Senator tomorrow, in a separate ceremony along with other new Senators from the planets..."

"Hey, seems that Golden Boy likes fresh meat too!" Klemdocc drawled, catching Han with his eyes glued to the viewer. "Tsk, tsk, _Goldie_, what would your gorgeous, lonely wife say?"

Solo ground his teeth and sneered, getting on his feet. "She'll probably ask her to join us, _Sir_..." And with that, he sauntered out of the room.

"Corellians!" The Colonel spat after him.

* * *

Gah! Why did he allow stupid Klem to get to him?

A chill run down his spine at the thought that he may had intercepted Bria's last message. Still, she had been really careful in what she said there and the current communication's officer – one of Klemdocc's buddies - was not smart enough to get his personal system sliced.

The man was a loser like everybody else assigned to this poor excuse of a planet. The place was meant to be a punishment not only for the future inmates that would soon inhabit the prison complex, but also for the slaves building it and the garrison guarding them.

His steps guided him automatically to his only let out as for late.

Han Solo took out the swoop out of the storage locker and checked his security marks to make sure nobody had been tampering with her since he took her out last. Satisfied with the inspection, he let his fingers run over her smooth crimson surface.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, "wanna go for a ride?"

As he accelerated through the empty plains his thoughts went to the previous owner of the racing swoop. The thought of that disgusting being called the Emperor getting his hands on that lively girl he had met a few months before on Alderaan added to his bitterness and he pressed the bike in tights turns until it screeched in the wind.

He had not recognized her until he heard the name; she was almost buried under layers and layers of heavy fabric and cosmetics. She did not even look like herself, but after all he had only seen her twice. With fondness, he remembered the note that had accompanied the arrival of the swoop.

_My father found out about our 'bath' in Lake Reeja. He sends his deep thanks for fishing me out and says he owes you one. Incidentally, he ordered me to get away from that swoop – permanently. So I thought to give it away to someone who would really appreciate it instead of letting the nerfherder have it. Mrs. Solo said you were a racer for a while. Enjoy it! Leia_

_I hope you're alright, kid_, he thought as he speeded by the military spaceport. _Damnit_, a new slaver ship had arrived and they were just unloading their living cargo.

Wookiees. _Why did it have to be Wookiees?_

* * *

Bail Organa knocked softly on his daughter's door.

"Leia? Are you awake?" He asked softly. A minute later Winter, freed at last from her costume, wig and heavy make up, opened the door and let him in.

The room was darkened but for a small reading lamp by the bed and the ever changing colors of a silenced holo-viewer.

"She's asleep," his ward informed him.

"No, I'm not," the Princess whispered hoarsely, emerging from the mess of silken bedclothes and propping herself up with some difficulty against the carved headboard.

"Then you should be," Bail admonished affectionately. "You need to get your strength back for tomorrow."

"I'll be all right, I promise... All I need is a good night's sleep."

An hour before the programmed departure time from the Alderaanian Embassy towards the Imperial Palace for the Greeting Ceremony (or Creeping Ceremony as Leia privately referred to it) the Princess had been attacked by violent vomiting. By the time their staff medic arrived, made a diagnose and gave her something to alleviate the symptoms, she was not even able to stand on her feet. They were forced to ask Winter to take her place, knowing how little tolerance the Emperor had for the most seemingly trivial violations of courtly protocol.

The Alderaanian Viceroy sat on the bed and caressed his daughter's forehead, wiping away a few strands that had escaped her messed up braids. "I'm sure you will," he smiled. "The medic said it was only a random virus, it's not uncommon when you arrive to a planet so crowded. When your mother and I went to Kuat for our wedding tour..."

"I know the story," Leia giggled, interrupting him. "I just wanted to see how you two looked on the holo..." A deep yawn interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Winter did an outstanding job," he smiled. With her holographic memory and her physical resemblance to Leia, Winter had become the perfect decoy for her. The two girls – _Women_, the Viceroy corrected himself, _women_ - together were a formidable team, specially because not many people knew about his ward's exceptional abilities and most people thought that the Princess had gotten the office just because of him. Memory supplemented with intuition, recklessness balanced with discretion and two brilliant, compassionate minds behind bright eyes, they would be soon a force to behold.

And he was about to abandon them in the krayt dragon's lair itself.

Extending his hand, he invited Winter to join them on the bed. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered, embracing the two friends. "Rest well, my little _raanies_. Tomorrow will be a great day."

When Bail left the room, Leia asked Winter to turn the holo-viewer off, knowing that sleeping was really the best for her. She turned in the bed surprised when she heard the volume rise instead.

"Look who's there," Winter called to her attention with a wink. "Your friend from Lake Reeja..."

"...Will be a model correctional facility. The magnanimity and wisdom of our Emperor has destined only the best personnel to take care of the future inmates..." The commentator of the documentary recited. All day that channel had been telling and retelling the past, present and future achievements of Palpatine's administration.

"He doesn't look all right..." Leia muttered, her eyes glued to the holo-viewer as the images showed the brand new installation and the garrison demonstrating it capabilities.

"He's lost weight," her friend confirmed. "Have you heard anything about his wife?"

The Princess shook her head. "Nothing since she went undercover. But I guess that's a good thing, really. It's a shame they aren't together, they're a nice couple, even if he..." She didn't finish the thought. Early on she had learnt that things were not always black and white in the long ongoing struggle against tyranny. Nice people sometimes did wrong things for good reasons and even more often despicable people did good things for their own benefit.

"It is. Now go to sleep, tomorrow is your big day." Winter grasped Leia's hand and her clear eyes fixed in hers. "Tomorrow everything starts to change, as you always wanted."

"We'll do that together,"the young Senator answered with a smile, squeezing her aide and best friend's hand back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Bail Organa sat in his favorite chair and watched a holo recording of his daughter's latest speech at the Senate, questioning his decisions regarding her for the thousandth time maybe.

Not the decision of adopting her. Never that. Leia had been Breha's only source of joy in her last years and the biggest source of comfort for him after her passing. She was the best daughter a man could ask for.

Not because she was perfect – far from it – but because he could always trust her to do the best she could in every situation. Leia had the best qualities of Padmé, Breha and himself poured into one. And, who knew, maybe from Anakin Skywalker too. Who would not be proud of a daughter like that?

Still. The same qualities that made him so proud of her made him tremble with fear and anxiety sometimes too.

She would never stand still and do nothing if she knew of some injustice that was in her power to correct. And like most young people, she still thought that her power to do good was unlimited. That there were no limits on what someone could accomplish when there was a will behind.

A saint? Leia was no saint, he was sure of that. She liked fast machines and she liked good-looking guys, and he had tuned a blind eye more than once on both weaknesses, knowing that she may not have any other time in her life to endulge in them. And boy she could throw a tantrum in her younger years, he remembered with a smile.

The Viceroy of Alderaan rubbed his hand on his face and wondered if he was doing the right thing allowing Leia to be so close to the Emperor.

One of the things Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi had explained before trusting him with the orphan baby was that he should never, under any circumstances, allow Leia to be near him or Vader, especially in the first years.

"Like beacons in the Force, this young one and her brother are. Recognize them at once the Sith will," Yoda had warned him.

Then he had given him some ancient texts that few sentients before had laid eyes upon. And none of them were non-Jedi.

The documents explained how Force sensitive children tended to use their powers in an intuitive way while they were very young and how they progressively lost the ability as they grew older if they were not trained. How accurate or how general that rule was, or if those abilities could be regained, the scripts did not clarify.

"These younglings, though..." Kenobi had said at last. "Nothing is certain with these two..."

Fortunately Palpatine very rarely abandoned his Palace in Coruscant and Bail had never given Vader an excuse to set his dark feet on Alderaan. But he did not know that in those first days.

Another thing he had asked the Jedi before parting with them was if the Sith would be able to read his mind and discover the true identity of his adopted daughter through him. Master Yoda had answered that Jedi were not able to read minds literally, only the strongest feelings. At least not without intention. But the Emperor and his henchman were Sith, not Jedi.

Things had gone well anyway. Leia had stayed with Breha on Alderaan while his duty as Senator retained him on Coruscant and later when her health had taken a turn for the worse he had gone back to them. The minor incidents the little girl produced that could be linked to some Force-potential where duly covered and forgotten in time. He had never had any reason to believe Palpatine suspected anything about his deepest secret, beside his obvious sympathy for the scattered groups of Rebels and his longing for true democracy.

But when the political situation had forced him to accept Leia's candidacy for the Senate he had been terrified by the idea that the Sith may recognize Leia as a Force-sensitive if he saw her face to face. He had spent many a blank night worrying about that inevitable moment.

The solution came, as it often did, in a small vial.

He had only needed one drop of it slipped in Leia's cup of water to save the day.

It had broken his heart to see her so sick, but it had been for her own protection. Maybe the last time he had the power to do so.

Turning the recording off, Bail Organa opened the latest intelligence report.

_Damnit_. The attempt to get someone into Tarkin's entourage had failed again.

* * *

The big Wookiee watched through eyes closed up to mere slits the complicated mating ritual of the couple of humans only a few meters away from him.

He knew that humans took some kind of permanent vows to each other at some point in their lives, but why they bothered at all with them if they broke them at every opportunity was beyond his comprehension. Maybe it had something to do with their pityful short lifespan; maybe it was just some primal urge to live everything at once before it was too late. He had to agree that even Wookiees with their far superior sense of honor and honesty sometimes struggled with their vows after the first couple of centuries of bonding.

Still, it was disgusting to see how the older female made her advances shamelessly towards the younger Lieutenant. He seemed a good enough fellow, at least as far as Imperials went. When he was in charge of supervising the slave's quarters the water they were given was cleaner, the food more abundant and Imperial regulations about slaves handling were followed to the letter. Even a tube of bacta gel had been conveniently dropped just within the reach of his arm through the bars when Rrraktiie's leg wound had become infected.

"C'mon, Slick, nobody would see us here," the woman pleaded, her hands wandering lasciviously over the Imperial pilot's body, her fingers playing with the fastenings of his uniform.

"_They_ can," the young man said, slipping out of her tight embrace.

The Wookiee's blue eyes opened a fraction of a centimeter.

"They?"

"They're not animals, you know," the man called Slick added with disgust.

"Well, not exactly," she recoiled, "but close enough," she added with disdain.

The sensitive ears of the Wookiee caught then some voices coming from afar but nearing fast. If he was not mistaken, one of them was the female's lawful mate. Watch out, cub, he growled under his breath as he turned around as if in deep sleep, not really caring for the drama about to develop.

* * *

Slick Solo released a cleansing breath. It had been a close call, with Tipsy Klem making a surprise inspection and almost walking in on Mrs. Klemdocc and him. At least his shift was almost over and he could be alone for a while. And he would make sure the lock was in place this time.

He gave a last look to the giant russet-colored Wookiee sleeping in a corner of his cell. _Thanks, pal_, he thought, and almost said aloud. Biting his tongue he left the slaves alone to enjoy what little privacy they had.

An hour later he had gotten a well deserved shower and dinner and flipped his comm system on to check for messages. One sent by someone called 'Krala' made a shiver run down his spine. _Krala_ was ancient Corellian for _pilgrim_. His pet name for Bria in the beginning of their marriage.

With shaking fingers he opened the file. It was text only.

_Han, honey...How are you doing? You may laugh at me but I finally lost that coat you hated so much. I hope it doesn't get really cold before I can get a new one but I guess that if I want to get something of the same quality I'll have to go to Grondar's. Is it cold already where you are? Well, I'm on the run, but I wanted to let you know that my friend Tressai is maybe going your way in a few days but he said the odds were 9 to 1. He'll drop you a call if he gets there. I'd like the two of you to meet. Take care! Love, Krala_

The colorful expletive that left his lips after reading the message was something his manners teacher back at the Academy would have certainly not approved of.


End file.
